Paris Levallois on the other hand, who just one week ago were level with BCM at the top, slumped to a second defeat in a row in the Pro A, and their third in the space of seven days, on Friday.

Just like in their midweek encounter with BCM, Paris had a catastrophic quarter, this time the opening one, at home to Roanne.

Their visitors took an early 27-15 lead and kept the Parisians at arm's length the rest of the way.

Antoine Diot had 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds in defeat but center Sean May, who leads the league in scoring, finished with 11 points, his lowest offensive contribution since the start of the season.

KARSIYAKA WIN ON THE ROAD

Pinar Karsiyaka also registered a fourth consecutive victory on the domestic front over the weekend, beating Mersin BŞB 84-78 on the road in the Turkish BEKO Ligi.

Unlike in recent games though, Karsiyaka had to work hard for the result, as they trailed by four points at the interval and only took the lead behind a big third quarter, in which they outscored their hosts 24-14.

Robert Dixon was immense on both ends of the floor for the winners, picking up a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.

While Karsiyaka improved to 13-3 in the standings and stay just one win off the pace of league leaders Banvit and Fenerbahçe Ülker, fellow EuroChallenge side Tofas SC Bursa suffered a painful defeat to a direct competitor for a play-off spot on Saturday.

Tofas fell 80-93 to TED Ankara Kolejliler at home, mainly because of a poor showing on the defensive end.

Double-double party for Pavel Ermolinskij as the Dolphins registered a narrow win

Norrköping Dolphins had held on to edge out Tofas 84-82 in EuroChallenge Group K action last Tuesday and they won another encounter at home in similar fashion in the Swedish BasketLigan at the weekend.

The Dolphins entered the final frame tied with Boras Basket but scored 30 points in that period to out-gun their guests, 99-92.

In one of his best games this season, Ukrainian winger Pavel Ermolinskij led the way for the hosts with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Big man Joakim Kjellbom was not far behind and confirmed his good run of form by collecting his own double-double, with 16 points and 12 boards.

Another EuroChallenge Group L side, Okapi Aalstar, had worked hard last week to interrupt a string of bad results with a 91-87 win in double overtime at Tsmoki Minsk, but failed to maintain the momentum upon their return on home soil.

They fell 73-63 at Belgian Ethias league leaders Telenet BC Oostende on Saturday and have now dropped to third place in the standings, with an 8-6 record.

Former Belgian international Thomas Dreesen had 19 points and seven rebounds for Aalstar in a losing effort.